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Tag Archives: influenza

It seems that a study for one thing led to a surprising
discovery directly affecting the obese and the Swine Flu and I care
because after quitting a forty-year smoking habit, I grew eligible
to join the lofty, spread out and huge Tubby Club and have a
personal health interest in this study.

“…the cases of 10 patients at a Michigan hospital … were so ill
they had to be put on ventilators.
Three died. Nine of the 10 were obese, seven were severely obese,
including two of the three who died”
(EFFORTS Newsletter 13 Autumn 2009)

I have been waiting for this news to become public beyond the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weekly report, but if it
has, I’ve missed it.

In the meantime, the Swine Flu is here, real and we tub’ettes
need to discuss these findings with our doctor and/or call the
Health Department.

The following is taken directly from the autumn 2009 EFFORTS
newsletter, verbatim. Thanks JJ and EFFORTS.
*************************************
OBESITY EMERGES AS RISK FACTOR IN SEVERE FLU
People who are obese but otherwise healthy may be at
special risk of severe complications and death from the new
H1N1 swine flu virus, U.S. researchers reported on Friday.

They described the cases of 10 patients at a Michigan
hospital who were so ill they had to be put on ventilators.
EFFORTS Newsletter 13 Autumn 2009
Three died. Nine of the 10 were obese, seven were severely
obese, including two of the three who died.

The study, published in advance in the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s weekly report on death and disease,
also suggests doctors can safely double the usual dose of
oseltamivir, Roche AG’s antiviral drug sold under the Tamiflu
brand name.

“What this suggests is that there can be severe
complications
associated with this virus infection, especially in severely
obese
patients,” said CDC virus expert Dr. Tim Uyeki. “And five of
these patients had … evidence of blood clots in the lungs. This
has not been previously known to occur in patients with severe
influenza virus infections,” Uyeki said in a telephone
interview.

Dr. Lena Napolitano of the University of Michigan Medical
Center and colleagues studied the cases of 10 patients admitted
to the university’s intensive care unit with severe acute
respiratory distress syndrome caused by infection with H1N1.

“Of the 10 patients, nine were obese (body mass index more
than 30), including seven who were extremely obese (BMI more
than 40),” they wrote in their report.

Their study was not
designed to see if obesity or anything else poses a special
risk
factor for flu. But the researchers were surprised to see that
seven of the 10 patients were extremely obese.

MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE
Nine had multiple organ failure, which can be seen in
influenza, but five had blood clots in the lungs, and six had
kidney failure.
None has fully recovered, the researchers said.

The H1N1 swine flu virus first emerged in Mexico in March
and was spreading out of control in the United States by the
time
it was identified at the end of April. The World Health
Organization declared a pandemic in June.

While it is causing moderate illness, all influenza viruses
can
be deadly and this one is no exception. It has killed close to
500
people globally, more than 200 in the United States alone.

However, the new virus has a slightly different pattern from
seasonal flu — it spreads in the summer months, attacks young
adults and older children, and may affect the body slightly
differently.

As with H5N1 avian influenza, which only rarely attacks
people, patients seem to survive better if they get Tamiflu for
longer than the usual five-day treatment course, Uyeki said.
“We
don’t know if it is necessary for a higher dose of the drug to
be
given to patients who are obese,” he said.

“The high prevalence of obesity in this case series is
striking,” the CDC’s commentary accompany the report reads.
“Whether obesity is an independent risk factor for severe
complications of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection is
unknown. Obesity has not been identified previously as a risk
factor for severe complications of seasonal influenza.”

About This Blog

This is a patient to patient blog to exchange information and resources...from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) to Arthritis to Cellulites to Sarcoidosis to Sleep Apnea to RLS to Psoriasis to Support Groups to Caregivers and all points in between. Written by Sharon O'Hara.